SAS Certified Specialist: Base Programming Using SAS 9.4 M5 Practice Exam

The SAS Base Programming Specialist exam assesses your proficiency in fundamental data manipulation, analysis, and reporting using SAS 9.4. It validates your skills in:

• Accessing and creating data structures
• Managing data
• Error handling
• Generating reports and output

Who Should Take the Exam?

• This exam is ideal for individuals seeking to demonstrate their fundamental SAS programming skills.
• Ideal for entry-level data analysts, business analysts, or individuals transitioning into data-related careers.
• Those who want to validate their knowledge for potential job opportunities.
• Those looking to gain a strong foundation for further SAS learning.

Exam Details

• Exam Code: A00-231
• Exam Name: SAS Base Programming Specialist
• Exam Languages: English
• Exam Questions: 40-45 Questions
• Time Duration: 135 minutes
• Passing Score: 725 (score range from 200 to 1,000 points)

Exam Course Outline 

The Exam covers the given topics  - 

Topic 1: Understand about Accessing and Creating Data Structures: 20-25%

• Creating temporary and permanent SAS data sets.
• Investigate SAS data libraries using base SAS utility procedures.
• Access data.
• Combine SAS data sets.
• Create and manipulate SAS date values.
• Control which observations and variables in a SAS data set are processed and output.

Topic 2: Learn about Managing Data: 35-40%

• Sort observations in a SAS data set.
• Conditionally execute SAS statements.
• Use assignment statements in the DATA step.
• Modify variable attributes using options and statements in the DATA step.
• Accumulate sub-totals and totals using DATA step statements.
• Use SAS functions to manipulate character data, numeric data, and SAS date
• Use SAS functions to convert character data to numeric and vice versa.
• Process data using DO LOOPS.
• Restructure SAS data sets with PROC TRANSPOSE.
• Use macro variables to simplify program maintenance.

Topic 3: Understand Error Handling: 15-20%

• Identify and resolve programming logic errors.
• Recognize and correct syntax errors.
  

Topic 4: Learn how to Generate Reports and Output: 15-20%

• Generate list reports using the PRINT procedure.
• Generate summary reports and frequency tables using base SAS procedures.
• Enhance reports system user-defined formats, titles, footnotes and SAS System reporting options.
• Generate reports using ODS statements.
• Export data